BDA, PLP & UBP Respond to Poll Results

January 24, 2011

All three political parties have responded to the survey results released today [Jan 24] by Research Innovations on a number of factors including personal views of the three leaders of Bermuda’s political parties, economic conditions and voting intentions.

The survey, which queried 403 Bermuda residents, showed that Premier Paula Cox is viewed the most favourably of the three political leaders, with 84.3% of the respondents having a favourable overall opinion of her, compared to 43.7% for UBP Leader Kim.Swan, and 25.3% for BDA Leader Craig Cannonier.

When asked “If there was a General Election tomorrow, which party would you vote for?” the majority of respondents [46.8%] said the PLP, with 12.8% of respondents saying the UBP, while 3.9% said the BDA.

On the economy – 68.3% felt that the economy is moving in the wrong direction, and only 8.3% ranked the economic conditions in the country today as ‘good’.

The UBP said:

The poll results reflect the bounce one would expect for a new political leader. In this case, the Premier’s numbers can be attributed to the “honeymoon” any new leader can expect plus the widespread relief felt by the fact that she replaced an unpopular leader.

But personalities are not the point here. The most important thing this poll reveals is widespread dissatisfaction with the direction Bermuda is heading. People are not happy, and they have good reasons to be.

Bermuda is at a crossroads and people have been given no reason to believe the Government will make the right choices, let alone follow through on them; especially since we arrived at this point on their watch.

We have talked about the need to show positive results in education reform, economic planning, public safety and government reform based on principles of fairness, transparency and accountability. The Government’s failure to deliver in these key areas, its failure to project confidence and a sense of direction, has made people very anxious. This is reflected in their answers to questions about “the way things are going in Bermuda at this time.”

The BDA said:

This poll is surprising in that the PLP favourability is so high given the low ratings on the economy. The figures suggest that the voter has yet to make the connection that the unprecedented decline in Bermuda’s economy was not just due to the results of a recession but of poor decision making by our government.

It boggles the mind that so much faith is being placed in the current administration despite our Leaders silence as to the country’s poor performance. Poll results such as these simply show me that we have a lot of work to do.

The PLP said:

We are grateful for and heartened by the confidence of the people in our Leader. We remain ever vigilant of the challenges facing our country and are working to ensure we navigate through them successfully. There is much work ahead and we plan to keep our shoulders to the wheel.

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Comments (26)

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  1. Terry says:

    Typical. Resonable response from both oppostions.

    As for the PLP as I said..well in my words..’The Gombey has left the House’ but the beat goes on.

  2. Truth says:

    The BDA correctly state that the electorate, for the most part, are clearly not connecting the dots with respect how to the poor financial decisions and the mass mismanagement of funds is directly connected to their current financial hardships. It tells me that things are not dire enough yet. Party loyalty doesn’t pay the bills for the electorate neither does it put food on the table. This year will be a year of cutting back. The Premiers planned cut of 150M seems to indicate that the civil service and other Govt departments will be shrunk. These cuts will primarily impact the PLP electorate. It will be interesting to see how the electorate feels after they experience the impact of the budget cuts and tax increases that are almost sure to come.

  3. sandgrownan says:

    “Shoulders to the wheel”…what does that mean?
    Does it mean they’re circling the wagons because there’s alligators in the swamp?

    Clowns.

    • Watching says:

      Means that they are driving without any hands. Will not be long before they totally crash.

  4. Triangle Drifter says:

    Cough, cough, cough cough…sand…cough…in…cough…my…mouth…cough, cough, cough. Give…cough…me…cough…some…cough…Kool Aid…cough, cough, cough!

  5. s says:

    Its surprising in one sense the results of this poll, but also reflects that most are not looking at where Bermuda’s economy is heading, and which party has caused this. Maybe its time for a change Bermuda? I really do not think that you can blame the economic decline on the recession since it is OVER!!! If you have not noticed that the rest of the world is in recovery and Bermuda is in a steady decline; although since the rest of the world is in recovery people may start spending more on vacation and heading to Bermuda and spending money. (Trying to be optimistic)

    • The truth shall set you free says:

      It’s not the least bit surprising, in fact I fully expected it.

  6. Sad Bermudian says:

    I am watching my fellow Bermudians flush their future down the drain.

  7. lifeblood says:

    Why was there a poll taken so early in Cox’s position as Premier? What is there to be either satisfied or dissatisfied with so soon?

    • Scott says:

      because as far as i know, polls can be commissioned by whoever, whenever. Its a smart move to get a poll made up during times where they may side with you in some way.

  8. One Love says:

    What does it say about this country that just under 70% of the population felt that our economy is moving in the wrong direction and clearly it is; less than 9% ranked the economic conditions of the country as good, YET over 84% have a favourable opinion of the Premiere / MINISTER OF FINANCE. Many are quick to lay all of the blame at the feet of Premiere Brown and yes he deserves the lions share, but, correct me if I’m wrong,wasn’t the current Premiere / Minister of Finance, the Minister of Finance during the Brown era?

  9. Reality says:

    This island is so doomed. The mentality of the people will forever keep us in shackles….not to the white man but to our own ideology which is focused on getting back at the white man rather than building a stronger and better Bermuda.

    • Hudson says:

      Reality, you have hit the nail on the head. It is our collective inability to look forward rather than backward that is our biggest obstacle. How we can live in a country where people blindly put their faith in somebody or something merely due to skin colour or warped idealogy is beyond me. Even more troublesome is that a third party was formed to give people a clear cut opportunity to move away from the past “injustices” while showing the current government that they are not going to take such poor governance, yet this party is the lowest supported currently. Sadly, i think it will have to get worse until it gets any better. Heard about another one of my Bermudian friends choosing to leave the Island for good this summer – saddens me.

      • The truth shall set you free says:

        Yep, and many more will be leaving in the coming years.

  10. 32n64w says:

    PLP = Party before country

  11. Malachi says:

    I find it interesting that the BDA is surprised by the level PLP support in spite of the state of the economy. Could it be that intelligent people realize that we are in a global economic crisis which neither the PLP, the UBP or the BDA are in a position to control??

    • Tired of nonsense says:

      Eco 101:

      > Raising taxes in the middle of a recession does not stimulate the economy as a way of getting out of the recession. It actually prologs it.

      > Spending/squandering/misappropriating all your $$$ when the good times are rollin’ instead of saving some $$$ for a rainy day (i.e. recession) also assists in prolonging the recession. Govt spending on capital projects etc. stimulates the economy through ensuring the uneployed are employed and thus have disposable income to survive as well as spend in the floundering economy

      I am suprised that you do not understand the basics of an economy as you have stated numerous times that you are successful within the business world.

      No one blames the PLP for brining about the recession. People blame their policies which have inevitably prolonged the recession and its adverse affects on the island as a whole. Could it be that the people that you speak of do not retain the economic intellect to understand why many blame the PLP for making this recession worse than it had to be?

      • LOL (original) says:

        Anything but the PLP = EVIL don’t you get it yet…………………..

        LOL

    • The truth shall set you free says:

      Yes, let’s continue to play this card. Ignorant spending in a global recession exasperates the situation. Why is it we allow all these overspent capital projects to go unchallenged, when the global recession dictated that financial prudence is key to recovery. We’re going to have one hell of a time pulling out of this recession, because no effort was made to save money.

      Are you satisfied with the overspending? How does 10 million overspent on the TCD emissions sound? Or 25 million on the dockyard pier? Why do you accept this gross financial mismanagement of YOUR tax dollar, just so you can raise the PLP flag high and proud?? How ‘intelligent’ is this line of thinking?

      • Malachi says:

        Firstly, let me make this clear…….I do NOT like party politics and do not belong to a political party as some have suggested. I am likely to be critical of the UBP, the PLP, or the BDA. FYI, I was most upset by Paula Cox and the “cog in the wheel” statement. I would like to be corrected if I am wrong, but were not the capital projects started before the global crisis began? And can someone name a large Government project in the last twenty five years (under either government) that was not over budget? I guess all I am saying is that it is very easy to cast blame when the economy is bad. I was made redundant almost two years ago, and still not working in my field of expertise. But I don’t blame the Government. Stuff happens!! Now the polls have suggested that Paula is a good leader and open to suggestions. If this is true, then I would suggest those with the harsh anti PLP sentiments simply contact her with you views on how to fix the economy. As we speak, Bermuda is just one of hundreds of economies gone bad. So If you can fix ours, then you are indeed genius!

  12. Guy says:

    Would have hoped those 403 people had a different opinion, but still, the sample size was 403 people. Is that even 1% of the voting population? How meaningful/accurate is this survey? Wasn’t there a recent article that support for the BDA and UBP was almost equal (or close to)? This survey has UBP three times more favourable.

  13. Ex-Bermudian says:

    The PLP needs to change its name to PFP PLEASE TAKE LABOR OUT
    the founding father of the B.I.U MUST BE ROLLING IN THE GRAVE!!!

  14. Terry says:

    Um cunfoozed……

    Does Paula Cox pay taxes on her house. Does her husband Mr. Nkeuleu. Is she emxempt from all this spousal stuff.Is she a Cox or a Nkeuleu. Can he buy a second home? Will Minister Burch of the Fifth Reiche claim domain on properties?

    Reminds me of Tom Moore. Just shut up, open a tavern, write some poetry and piss off.

    Irony.